


Sealed with a Kiss

by jokocraft



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Post Season 5, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-26 16:49:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13861815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jokocraft/pseuds/jokocraft
Summary: Keith enjoys Lance’s company more than he’s willing to say. (Krolia doesn’t need him to say.)





	Sealed with a Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to my bestie Lynette!

After a shower and a change of clothes, Keith fell into bed happy.

_“I’m proud of you, Keith.”_

Krolia’s words rang in his head, pumped through his veins—every lame cliché applied. Keith slipped under the covers and gripped them close. He finally felt back home, with his family old and new. He couldn’t keep the tired grin off his face as he replayed his reunion with the team over and over in his head.

He could still feel Shiro’s hand on his shoulder, stable and reassuring. He could see everyone’s warm looks in his mind’s eye. The hours of welcomes and comments and apologies all ran together, authentic and full of caring and nothing at all like the awkward handshakes and hellos he feared. In the whirlwind, Keith remembered Lotor, too, standing somewhere behind Allura, keeping a respectful distance.

Keith felt clean and warm and exhausted in the best way. He closed his eyes.

 _“You seem a bit overwhelmed,”_ Allura told him, after the excitement of his return began to wear off. _“Perhaps you’d like to show Krolia around the castleship?”_

 _“Yeah!”_ Lance stepped forward, not getting the hint. He expression was open and clear and bright as Keith had ever seen it. _“Awesome idea! Let’s go, we should start with the—”_

_“Lance,” Allura interrupted, “Keith probably wants—”_

_“It’s fine,”_ Keith said. Despite the journey, he still felt like he could run a mile. He shrugged at Allura. _“A tour is a good idea. Lance would lead it better than me.”_

 _“A compliment?”_ Lance gasped. _“Who are you?”_  Everyone laughed, and Keith couldn't help but grin at them. He looked up to see Krolia grinning at him.

Keith expected the tour to be a group event with Lance in charge, but when Matt and Shiro started to follow, Hunk and Pidge held them back. They might have mentioned something about fixing the engine systems or maybe dinner, and Allura had agreed, but Keith’s attention diverted after that.

 _“If you’re anything like Keith,”_ Lance said to Krolia as they walked, _“I know exactly what you’ll want to see first!”_

 _“Is that so?”_ Krolia said.

Keith had expected Lance to take them to the lions below, but first their stop was the training room. Lance deferred to Keith to explain how the bot-fighting system worked while he dashed away to get his bayard. Krolia seem more amused than impressed with the training functions, but her appreciation of the castleship’s architecture, even in the simple training room, was unmistakable. Eventually, they fell into a comfortable silence.

 _“So. How long have you known these people?”_ Krolia asked.

 _“Not long, really,”_ Keith said. _“Well, some I knew of since the Garrison. But I was only friends with Shiro before all this.”_

 _“That makes sense.”_  Krolia’s eyes were still smiling.

 _“Okay!”_ Lance called from the doorway. _“Catch, Keith!”_

The red bayard flew in an arc toward him, and Keith caught it effortlessly. For a moment, he was terrified it would do nothing, but as always, in his grip it formed into a sword like it always had.

 _“Interesting,”_ said Krolia. _“That used to belong to you?”_

_“It’s Lance’s now.”_

_“Yup,”_ Lance held out an impatient hand. _“But I actually only brought it here so I could show off all the weapons I can make with it.”_

Keith handed over the bayard and watched as Lance shot his gun—hitting a bot in the torso, then used his rifle—sniping a floating ball in the far upper corner of the room, then—

Lance’s bayard glowed a third time and what appeared was something Keith didn’t recognize. He stared at the sword in awe as Lance laughed.

_“You guys have the exact same expressions right now! It’s cool, right? A broadsword, Allura said. A weapon her father used a million years ago. I don’t really know how to use it yet, but—”_

_“I’ll show you,”_ Keith said. He felt his mother’s eyes on him, and Lance’s, but he kept his own gaze fixed on the sword. What did Lance do to unlock a new weapon? When did it happen? Where? Keith suddenly felt an ache, because who knew what else he had missed in the time he was away.

 _“Really?”_ Lance made an awkward hum-cough sound. _“That would be awesome, cool. Thanks, Keith. Um—what’s next? What else is there _…?_ Anything in particular you’d like to see, Ms. Kogane?” _

Ms. Kogane chuckled. _“It’s Krolia.”_

Keith’s eyes snapped open. Someone was knocking. Keith sighed and hauled himself out of bed. The door slid open, and Keith expected any number of people: Krolia, stopping by to say she’d changed her mind about staying and would be gone by morning. Or maybe Shiro, come to tell him what he _really_ thought about Keith’s return. Or maybe even Coran, reminding him that long showers were frowned upon. No—that was Kolivan.

But out of everyone it could have been, it was Lance.

“Hey. Sorry. I know it’s late.” Lance unceremoniously shoved the red bayard into Keith’s stomach. “Here’s a peace offering for interrupting your beauty sleep.”

Keith looked down at the bayard in his hands. He looked up at Lance, who wore his usual blue robe. His hair wasn’t perfect, which was somehow concerning.

“You’ll probably want to get reacquainted with it,” Lance said, “since there’s no way you aren’t gonna fly Red again by the end of the week. _Anyway_ , earlier, I wanted say something to you later, and now is later—probably not later enough, I know, because it’s super late. But I can’t sleep until I just say it. Okay?”

Keith’s eyes were owlish. “Okay.”

“You. Are.” Lance stared him down. “Important.” He took in a deep, huffy inhale. “So no more stunts. At least the mortality-threatening kind. I don’t care how valiant and selfless they are.” At Keith’s confused expression, Lance glared. “For example, joining dangerous, rogue organizations that don’t care about you. _Or_ doing whatever it takes to chase down tall, evil, dumb Galra trickster masterminds with admittedly decent hair. _Or,_ I don’t know, flying straight into planets about to explode. Not cool. Don’t think we haven’t forgotten. No one wants to mention it because everything is fine and dandy and delicate now. But we have not forgotten, _mullet_.”

Lance’s voice was shaky. His eyes were strained. He kept shifting from one foot to the other, and Keith realized he’d forgotten to invite Lance inside. Should he have? Would it be weird now if he did?

“Keith. Promise me."

Keith’s thoughts dissolved when he met Lance’s calm, intense gaze. His hands felt sweaty around the bayard. “What?”

“I don’t care how cliché it sounds," Lance said. "Promise. Promise that staying alive will be a top-three priority starting now. Behind brooding and annoying me.”

Keith's heart was beating too hard. He wondered again if he should invite Lance inside. Lance was waiting for him to say something. 

“I’m sorry,” Keith said. Lance narrowed his eyes. “Oh—I mean, I promise. Sorry.”

Lance looked unconvinced. “Okaaay…” He hesitated, partly turning away. “I guess I’ll hold you to that. See ya later.”

“Wait. Wait—” Keith reached his arm out halfway, his fingers stopping just inches from Lance’s robe. He pulled his hand back awkwardly. “I really am sorry. I don’t want anyone to resent me…”

Lance turned back towards him and sighed. “You have nothing to apologize for. And why the heck would we resent you?”

“For leaving,” Keith said. “Or coming back, I don’t know. For being a pain? A bad leader? A bad friend?” His eyes began to sting, but he maintained eye contact. “If I was in your position, I wouldn’t have been so excited to have me back.”

A beat passed. Lance blinked. His expression, for once, became unreadable. “What do you know about my position?” Lance laughed once, humorlessly. “Nothing. That’s what.”

But Lance's icy look didn't last. “Sorry. I…” His eyes flitted to the floor, the doorframe, Keith’s damp hair, a scratch on the doorframe. “I just really missed you. Punk and Matt—as in, team Pidge and Hunk, and third wheel Matt—are always hanging out together now, doing their own smart-people thing. Which is cool. We still do fun stuff together sometimes—like dude, you should have seen this one galra soldier Pidge reprogrammed—” He looked at up Keith, a small gleam returned to his eyes.

Keith couldn’t look away, but Lance did. “Anyway. What I’m saying is, there were lots of times I wished you were around. You know, to do not-smart-people stuff with. Plus, to pick on and win against at everything.” He grinned briefly. “If _I_ were in my position, which I _was_ actually, I would be super excited to have you back. _Alive_ , as a bonus.”

The way he said it made Keith want to smile, and maybe it was that swell in his chest, that swell of good feeling, that made him reach out and hug Lance as close as he could. Lance hugged him back—like a normal person at first, then more like Keith, not meaning to be suffocating but not really caring if he was.

Eventually, plus a little longer, the hug loosened, but neither of them seemed to want to be the first to pull away. They ended up doing it at the same time.

“Sorry I woke you up,” Lance said.

“I only just got out of the shower, actually.” He needlessly pointed his thumb back into his room.

Lance glanced back at his hair, then away. “Yeah.”

The silence was…not so comfortable as it was with Krolia, but Keith didn’t have the urge to escape back into bed. At all.

 _“You’re lucky he’s oblivious,”_ Krolia told him as they stood in the cockpit of Red. Lance had left the two of them alone at the final “finale” location to join Hunk in the kitchen.

 _“Don’t do what I did, Keith,” she continued._ Keith pretended not to hear her. She sighed. _“If you're anything like me, you don’t want to be lectured, definitely not right now. But better it’s said now than never, even if what you might feel is not what I think.”_

Keith stared out of the cockpit at nothing, too afraid to face her.

_“When I told your father I wanted to be with him, I wasn’t thinking about all the trials I might face or how what we had could be tested. I hadn’t prepared for the possibility of needing to make a choice between two very different lives. All that lack of forethought is what led me to make decisions I regret.”_

Keith scoffed. _“Are you saying you regret having me?”_

 _“Of course not!”_ Krolia hissed at him, and Keith startled. _“I’m saying if I had been more forward thinking, I wouldn’t have ended up making hurried, irreversible decisions like deciding to leave you.”_

Keith was silent. Krolia was patient. 

 _“I am forward thinking,”_ Keith said, finally turning around. _“That’s why I don't think I should say anything.”_

This time, Krolia scoffed.  _“And what is ‘forward thinking’ to you, Keith?_ _Knowing you’ll want to leave, one day? That he will want to stay and you will want to leave and so it will never work?”_

_“No…”_

_“Yes. I know, because I thought the same thing. But I was foolish.”_

Keith was quiet. _“What do you mean?”_

_“I should have asked myself: What is it out there that I might, one day, find myself leaving everything I love behind to find? Most leave thinking they're looking for peace, or adventure, or purpose, or belonging, or justice. But really, they're all just looking for escape.”_

_“Escape?”_

_“Escape from all the doubts that come with staying. Escape to where it’s easier to breathe. Don’t give into escaping like I did, Keith. You’ll never find what you’re looking for in some other place.”_

Keith steadied his breathing. “Hey…”

“Hm?” Lance shifted to his other foot again, his faux-nonchalant expression probably a lot dorkier than he was intending.

“I’m not really tired,” Keith said, knowing Lance wasn't fooled. “Do you wanna,” he crossed his arms and shrugged, “hang out in my room for a while?”

Slowly, Lance straightened his back, his expression morphing into genuine surprise. Keith’s chest lurched with dread. But then Lance smiled a weird smile, a wobbly one accompanied by slightly pink cheeks.

“Uh, yeah. Okay. Sure.”

They stared at each other. Lance glanced behind him and played with the edge of his robe. “It’s lonely in my room anyway. I didn’t say that.” He pushed past Keith into the room, and Keith watched as Lance collapsed onto his bed much the same way he had. The door slid shut.

“This must be so nostalgic for you!” Lance sighed. He lay sprawled on his back with his hands settled behind his head. Keith rested Lance's bayard on the top of the dresser and leaned against the wall, grinning.

“Hardened, world-weary Keith: Sleeping in his old, baby paladin bed instead of roughing it in the cave of some freezing mountain without even a tarp for a blanket, always ready to jump up at a moment’s notice to rendezvous with Kolivan and snuff out the target you’d been keeping tabs on for weeks.” Lance raised and arm up at the ceiling, as if imagining the scene before him. “You often go without sleep for days, of course, but that doesn't set you back. You are of the _Blade_ and thus superhuman. You must merely lick your purple-y sword, and its powers are absorbed into your blood to help you survive yet another mission.”

Lance made a few cinematic sound effects before continuing. Keith kept snickering, then let himself laugh outright; it felt foreign, not feeling like he needed permission. 

“Is that really the kind of stuff you thought I did?” Keith asked.

“I don’t know, maybe!”

“Sorry, but it’s more boring than that. Mostly all I did was wait, or watch and wait. There was a lot of thinking. And not talking.”

“Ugh.”

Keith’s face already hurt from smiling. “You would have hated it after the first week.”

Lance said nothing to that, and the mood lulled. Keith focused on steading his breathing again.

Out of no where, Lance tsked. “Do you think you look cool or something, leaning like that with your foot propped up?” He shook his head. “I hate to be the one to tell you, but your bad boy days are over. You’re a lame paladin again.”

Keith’s gaze dropped to the floor, along with his foot. All at once, he felt too aware of his body. He crossed his arms. “It’s not lame,” he said. “But I’m also not really a paladin.”

“Yet.”

Keith stilled, then looked back up.

“Something’s gonna work out,” Lance said. His expression was oddly guarded. “I just have a feeling. Trust me.”

“But—”

“I said trust me! That means no questions.” Lance sat up on the bed and scooted over, patting the mattress so Keith would sit.

“That’s not what it means.” But Keith reluctantly sat, leaving a good foot between them.

 _“I said I would never leave you again and that’s true,”_ Krolia told him after dinner, while they washed dishes. _“But that doesn’t mean we have to be ‘glued at the hip,’ as your father used to say. It just means that when you ask for help, I will help. If you want a friend, I will be a friend. If you need a mother, I will be there for you, because I am your mother. But you don’t have to call me that. I know I haven’t done much to deserve it.”_

“What’s up?” Lance asked. “You okay?”

Keith nodded slightly. “Better than I was.”

“That’s…not a resounding yes.”

Keith smirked. “I don’t think anyone in the galaxy could give a resounding yes right now.”

“I could.” Lance picked up Keith's pillow and propped it behind his back. He closed his eyes, then peeked one open at Keith. “What?”

“What do you mean, you could?” Keith asked. “The universe is in no better shape than it was a few weeks ago. You didn’t get to go to Earth when Pidge’s dad did. And Lotor is still here, pretending like it's normal.”

Lance closed his eye again and clasped his hands in his lap. He was quiet for a while, and when he finally spoke, his voice had a more serious edge.

“The Galra threat has cracked open, so to speak,” Lance said. “It's let out all kinds of chaos, but the crack has also given us an opportunity to worm inside and destroy the threat for good. And yeah, I miss home, but I've accepted that I can’t go back right now. I'm grateful I finally got to send my family a message from me, saying I’m alive. And Lotor’s here, which sucks because I still don’t trust him, but at least he's chilled out some since leaving that white hole with Allura…”

Lance didn't continue, and the ensuing silence felt wrong. Keith tried to think of something worthwhile to say, something intelligent to ask. Anything to keep the conversation going.

He cleared his throat. “Did…”

“I think he might be into her,” Lance said, squirming a bit. “Totally gross, but…”

Keith’s eyebrows rose. “But what?”

“But it’s not my business.”

Keith’s heart started to thump again. “That doesn’t sound like you.”

Lance scrunched his face. “Whatever, shut up. I’m not worried. She’ll figure out eventually that he’s not good enough for her.”

Keith let out a breath, his grin feeling very fake. He tried to keep his tone light. “And you are?”

Lance opened his eyes, looked slightly taken aback. He sat forward, moving the pillow from behind him to hold against his chest. He smile was melancholic. “Doesn’t matter.”

His tone implied there was nothing more to say, so Keith said nothing. Instead, he stole the pillow from Lance, causing Lance to laugh out and try to steal it back again. “How old are you, twelve?” “You still had pillow fights at twelve?” “Shut up!” “No.” Palms shoved into faces and legs jabbed into ribs, endless insults were paid and a few embarrassing, uncontrollable giggles might have come from one or both of them.

“Stop! Stop!” Keith laughed breathlessly as Lance, relishing victory, slammed the pillow against his head again and again.

“This is the end, Kogane!” Lance taunted. His hits were growing weak from exhaustion and laughing, but Keith was weaker. “Even your study—of the blade—did not prepare you—for this hidden ability!” His shoddy attempt at villainous laughter made Keith laugh even harder, until he was hardly making much sound at all and tears sprung to his eyes.

When Keith noticed the hitting had stopped, he quickly tried to regain his composure. Breathing rather hard, he sat up and shifted back, snatching the pillow from Lance's lap as he did. He got a glimpse of Lance’s expression, and his mouth fell open a little.

“What,” Lance said, as if Keith hadn't just caught him staring with the fondest expression in the world.

_“Breathing only gets easier when you realize there's plenty of air right where you are.”_

“Nothing.” Keith felt overly aware of his body again, but this time the closer proximity was making his neck and ears react poorly. He hoped Lance wouldn’t notice. Did he notice? Probably. But maybe Lance would think he was just flushed from the fight.

But of course, hardly a moment later, Lance shifted on the bed and accidentally brushed Keith’s thigh, and Keith knew the shade of his face was hopeless.

“What?” Lance asked again. His innocent tone wasn’t convincing.

“I, uh, I was wondering,” Keith blurted. “Could I be your co-pilot, maybe?”

Lance froze and so Keith did too. “I mean, until the lion situation changes. Or I do something else competely.” He curled into himself. 

“Something else? Like what?”

Keith blinked. “Huh?”

“Do _what_ else?” Lance asked.

“I don’t know,” Keith said. “Work with my—with Krolia maybe.”

“Oh, work with your mom?” Lance’s tense expression cleared. “Oh. Well. Look, you’re mom’s cool and all but—” Lance pushed the pillow Keith was holding into Keith’s own face. “You promised. No disappearing.”

Keith pushed the pillow away. “That’s not disa—”

Lance pushed it back. “Ditching us! Same thing! You have a five year contract!”

Keith pushed it away harder. “I am not contractually obligated—”

“I’ll forge your girly signature! No one will tell the difference.”

Keith gave up and talked through the pillow. “Did you even hear my question?”

Lance finally backed off. “Yeah. Co-pilot. What does that mean? I mean, I know what it means, but what do you _mean?_ Because last I checked the lions all have one seat, so—”

“It's just, I’ve been trying to think of ways I could be more useful on missions,” Keith said. He hesitated. “Red is the most difficult lion to fly, but I think that also means it has the most potential outside of Voltron. If we’re both in Red, we might be able to use her full potential for once, because we’d be able to pay undivided attention to either flying or strategizing. It would require both of us to be in the lion, because maintaining that mental connection would be critical, and while you avoid the most difficult parts of enemy fire to get wherever it is you need to go, not needing to pay close attention to the team's antics, I would focus on strategizing with the team over the comm, relaying you the most important information. Or, well, I could fly while you focus on strategy, because I don’t really—”

“Yeah, no…” Lance looked oddly overwhelmed.

“—but I don’t want to hog Red from you,” Keith continued. “Maybe I wouldn’t fly her at all. I mean, she’s not mine anymore. This is a dumb idea.” Keith knew he was rambling. What was he even saying? It was late, he should sleep, Lance probably wanted to leave. “But, also, we would be able go on way longer missions in Red since we could take shifts, like regular pilots, and—”

“I got it, I got it,” Lance said. He smirked. “You just wanna hang out with me. Am I right?”

“Wha—no! That’s not—”

 _“No! That’s not—”_ Lance mocked. “You can’t lie to me, mullet! But don’t worry. You can totally be my second in command.” Keith gave him a deadpan look, and Lance chuckled. “I’m kidding! Jeez. I know what co-pilot means. In theory. If there are impromptu competitions involved, or secret codes, or the occasional massage, well, it’ll be in the contract.”

“No contracts!”

Keith tried to shove the pillow into Lance’s face again, but instead pushing back, Lance deftly pulled the pillow from his grip and tossed it off the bed as he leaned in to kiss Keith square on the lips.

Keith processed for only a moment—then his instincts kicked in, and he kissed back with equal fervor. From his heart and hands and lips a tingling warmth spread, and Keith felt alight, crackling with energy just under his skin. As Lance tilted his head to kiss deeper, Keith wrapped his arms around Lance’s neck to pull him closer. The two of them overcompensated and Keith fell back against the mattress, Lance following, his hands never leaving the dark hair he so loved to hate.

Keith was only able to breathe during the times Lance felt compelled to break away to say his name. Keith felt possessed by desire to make him forget all others. It was an emotional exchange, catharsis, something born of fear and relief and some inevitable degree of desperation. Keith wondered if this was the result of an outpouring of all the emotion he’d been shoving down for months. Or maybe much longer.

Lance finally sat back. “Oh my gosh,” he panted. “Sorry. Not really _sorry_ —but.” He couldn’t seem to keep the dopey grin off his face. “I’ve never done that.”

Keith propped himself on his elbows. He was probably mortifyingly red, but he grinned back anyway. “Me neither. Obviously.”

“Obviously?” Lance hands combed back into Keith’s hair, and he leaned closer. “Don't make me roll my eyes. You could have made out with any girl in the whole freakin’ Garrison if you tried. And, I guess,” Lance looked away and messed with something invisible on the sheets, “a whole lot of guys, too, I bet.”

“Well, I didn’t try,” Keith said.

“Probably just because you didn't know how.” Lance looked up again, uncertainty in his eyes.

“No. Because I always had more important things to do.” Keith's voice dropped to a mutter. “But, right now I don't, so…”

“You're such a romantic,” Lance deadpanned.

Keith huffed. “I've never liked anyone like that before, okay? My whole life, I've never felt that way toward anyone. Except you. I’ve always kinda…well, I like you. Is that romantic enough?”

Lance kissed him again, slower and softer. Keith felt slightly faint as he kissed back.

“Yeah, that was pretty romantic,” Lance said, pulling away. “It probably did a number on your angsty soul. You should probably take it easy for the next 48 hours just in case—”

“Shut up!”

“Noooope.” Lance fell next to him on the bed. As they lay side by side, the silence between them was almost comfortable.

 _“Emotions are an asset before they're a liability, Keith,”_ Krolia said to him, before they parted ways for the night. _“Sometimes they lead to bad decisions. But most of the time, they lead to the best ones.”_

“Hey, Lance.”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“Huh? For what? Agreeing to let you tag along with me in Red? Well, Red has to agree too, so it's up to you to seal the deal with her.”

Keith sat up and blinked down at Lance. The love he felt was as pointless as denying space itself. But when did he fall? When did it begin? That afternoon? In the months he was away? When they defeated Sendak? Before that? Maybe, maybe not. But there was one memory that Keith had come back to countless times since joining Voltron. Often in dreams. 

At first, the dreams had replaced Lance with himself. But that version hadn’t lasted long at all. Mostly, the dreams featured diiferent versions of Lance. Serious versions. Jokester versions. Mean versions. Versions with Allura there and Lance trying to impress her. Versions with Lance trying to impress Keith.

“For lighting up the carvings in that cave,” Keith said. “You know, back on Earth. Don’t think I’ve forgotten.”

Lance’s stunned smile was the most beautiful Keith had ever seen on him, even in his dreams. Keith breathed in slowly, then settled back on the mattress. “We stick together,” he said. “No matter what happens. This time, you promise.”

Lance smirked and tapped his chin. “Alright. I’ll put it in the contract—” Keith shoved him.

“Blood pact then?” Lance laughed.

“Not necessary.”

Keith lifted one hand to turn Lance’s face toward his. After meeting his eyes for a moment, Keith gave him a chaste kiss. “It’s sealed.”

 

 

_“I’m proud of you, Keith.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you liked this! If you have any fic ideas, please shoot.


End file.
